


Out of Breath

by kashiseos (orphan_account)



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-13
Updated: 2014-08-13
Packaged: 2018-02-13 01:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2132751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/kashiseos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was about time things got a little out of hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of Breath

It was about time things got a little out of hand.

Nitori was halfway through a sprint when he felt the telltale tightness in his chest, slowing down in the middle of the lane to tread water and wait for the feeling to pass. Hanging onto the lane rope, he tried to take slow, deep breaths, but it only got worse. He ducked under the lane rope, slowly heading to the side of the pool and pulling himself out. He sat on the cool tile, willing his breathing to go back to normal. It didn't.

 _Inhaler_. He pushed himself into a standing position and trudged toward the locker room door, coughing. _I just need my inhaler, and everything will be fine_. The locker room was dark and empty, but Nitori found his bag and began to dig through its contents. _It has to be in here somewhere_...

At this point, Nitori was tearing through his swimming bag. His cell phone clattered to the tile floor along with an old pen, a bottle of shampoo, and a single sock. His breathing was getting worse and his wheezes echoed in the empty locker room. His inhaler was not in his bag. He could feel frustrated tears pooling in his eyes.

 _No. Not now_. The time was encroaching on 11 PM. There was nobody in the athletic building to help him right now. He would have to head back to the dorms. Yes, that was the solution. Someone there would still be awake and would help him. He probably left his inhaler in his desk anyway.

The normally two minute walk took at least ten due to the number of times Nitori had to stop to catch his breath. When he arrived at his dorm room, Momo was fast asleep, drooling slightly. He began to dig through his desk, quietly at first, as not to wake Momo, but then louder. The rustling should have woken him up, if not the incessant coughing, but Momo remained soundly asleep. The inhaler wasn't here either.

Options exhausted, Nitori stood, hands shaking, trying to think of his next move. _Momo clearly wo_ _n't be any help_. The next person to talk to, he decided, was Rin. Rin was smart, he was cool under pressure, he would know what to do.

Standing in front of Rin and Sousuke's door across the hall, Nitori knocked frantically. Over the loud sound of his breathing, he thought he could hear talking from inside the room, and then loud shouting of "rock, paper, scissors." If he weren't so stressed, he would have laughed. The talking ceased and the door opened, to reveal Rin, eyebrows raised.

"Nitori?"

"Rin-senpai," Nitori wheezed, "please help."


End file.
